Burning House
by Morningstar-Winchester
Summary: Everything would be okay. "RICHARD!" Or maybe nothing would be okay.


Rich shuddered as he stared down at the lit match in his hand, pinching it carefully between his fingers and debating on letting it drop right down onto the wooden floor. Jake was going to be pissed at him, but Rich was so, so done. He couldn't take it anymore. He couldn't take the constant judgement and that nagging voice in his head. The voice that just wouldn't allow him to be happy.

 _I'm sorry, Jake,_ Rich thought, swallowing his pride for the moment and allowing the grief to flood in. This was okay. Nobody else would get hurt, but him. He had tucked himself away upstairs in one of the guest rooms. The others would all hopefully smell the fire before it got close. They'd be okay.

Taking a shaky breath and bracing himself, Rich allowed the grip on the match to loosen just slightly.

A zap went through his head, shooting down his spine, and he let out a soft groan, a soft shiver running through him. His fingers clenched around the match. **Don't do this, Richard.** The Squip warned, voice soft and soothing, but a hint of malice was there. **You can fight this. Be happy.**

 _I'm not happy,_ Rich wanted to scream, but he choked it back, biting down hard on his lip. _You won't let me be happy. I can't do this anymore. And if I have to do this to get rid of you, then,_ He shuddered again, staring at the match. He didn't want to do this. He didn't want to die. But what other choice did he have?

 **Put it out,** The Squip whispered. **Go downstairs and join your friends.**

"No." Rich said out loud, decision suddenly set in stone. He could hear some of them leaving already, and as he turned his head to look out the window, he saw Jeremy heading out of the house as well, looking annoyed. Rich felt a faint twinge of guilt. _Sorry, tallass. Hope you find a better way to get rid of yours._ He closed his eyes and swallowed, then turned back.

"Hey, Rich!" He heard Jake hollering for him from downstairs, but luckily no footsteps followed. "Come on, dude, party's closin', don't'cha wanna have a few last beers?"

A few last beers. _If only you realized how ironic that sounds, Jakey-D._ He thought, a dull ache hitting him right in the chest. _No last beers for me._

 **You cannot be seriously considering doing this.**

 _I have to._ Rich thought back, closing his eyes. _This is the only way to get rid of you. I can't take it anymore._

And with that last final thought, Rich allowed the match to fall from his fingers and hit the floor. It took a second for it to catch on the wood, but once it did, flames rose up and Rich shuddered, holding his arms out slightly at his sides and clenching his fists tightly.

Downstairs, he heard someone suddenly yell out; " _Hang on, do any of you smell that?!"_

Silence.

Then-

" _FIRE! EVERYBODY OUT!_ "

Rich let out a shuddering sigh of relief and nodded faintly to himself. He was terrified beyond belief, but everything would be okay now. The Squip would be gone. Stop trying to convince him to get everybody in the school to get one. Stop trying to take over the world.

Everything would be okay.

" _ **RICHARD**_!"

Or maybe nothing would be okay.

* * *

 _I had a dream about a burning house..._

Everything felt completely surreal. Like nothing was really happening, like it was a dream, there was no fire, it wasn't happening, it was a dream. But even then as he thought that, Jake was rushing back into the house and running up the stairs. Rich had been up there last. He searched every room and finally saw him. "Rich, y-" He cut off in shock.

Rich was lighting a match, backing away from the flames that got too close. He was shaking violently and if he heard Jake, he didn't react. He finally managed to light it, and inhaled sharply. Then he jolted, and bit down on his lip.

"Rich, no!" Jake exclaimed, shocked, and Rich finally jumped and looked up. His eyes went wide with shock when he saw Jake.

"Jake-" Rich stuttered, backing up slightly. "Do- Don't. You need to… Go, you need to go away." He whispered shakily. "Get out.."

"Richard," Jake said carefully, watching, horrified, as the flames drew closer, moving toward Rich, and himself. "Please, don't, don't do this. Come with me, we can get out of here-"

"I _can't_!" Rich yelled, gripping the match tightly. "I can't - This - This _has_ to be done. You need to _go_! Get _out_! You could _die_!"

" _You_ could die!" Jake shot back furiously, staring at the shorter boy before looking at the flames. He could get through to get to him, but it was dangerous for both of them while Rich had the match in his hand.

"Yeah, Jake," Rich whispered, shuddering violently. "That's the point." And he threw the other match at the carpet, watching it catch on instantly, watching the flames erupt. That blocked off the easiest way to Rich, Jake thought with despair, glancing around the burning room.

 _You were stuck inside, I couldn't get you out..._

"Go," Rich pleaded, meeting his gaze. "I don't want you to-" He cut off when the smoke finally seemed to get to him. He broke down into a coughing fit almost instantly, taking in big gulps of air, as much as he could. "G-Go- _Go_ -"

"No," Jake coughed too, then stepped out of the room. Thinking he was going to leave, Rich's eyes widened with relief, before he broke down into another coughing it. But Jake wasn't leaving. No, Jake took in a deep, deep breath, getting as much clear and clean air into his lungs as he could before launching forward, managing to weave his way around the flames to reach Rich's side. He grabbed the shorter boy's arm and pulled him back toward the window.

"J-Jake," Rich managed to choke out, coughing and wheezing but no longer trying to breathe as much. He had to die. If he was going to die now he had to die. Now. Get rid of the Squip. "Do-on't-"

"Don't tell me _don't._ " Jake spat, his voice suddenly venomous as he let go of Rich to unlock the window. Rich didn't say anything else after this, breaking down into another coughing fit. His chest hurt.

"Mmff.." Rich felt the darkness closing in slowly, and he welcomed it, stumbling on his feet. But then a rush of cold air hit him, the heat and smoke leaving as he took a gulp of fresh air, gasping like he'd just risen from the dead, which he may as well have. "No-" Rich gasped, coughing again.

"Yes," Jake sounded pained and confused. Why the hell would Rich go as far as to try to end his own life? Jake flinched slightly as he grabbed the smaller boy again, pulling him toward the window and looking down. It was a very long drop - Jake didn't know if either of them would make it.

But he did know they couldn't stay inside this house.

 _Laid beside you and pulled you close…_

Jake took in a deep breath and gripped Rich's arm tightly, causing the shorter boy to let out a soft grunt of protest. Jake stared down out the window, then turned his head toward the fire, and grimaced. There was a chance of Rich surviving if the two of them jumped out the window - Jake could easily soften his fall. But if they stayed, neither of them would survive.

Rich's gaze met his suddenly, filled with despair and pain and this deep, fiery passion. "Jake," He whispered. "This is a mistake."

"You're an idiot." Jake muttered, staring at him. Then suddenly, Rich was pulled up into his arms, so short that he had to stand on his toes to reach up. And suddenly Jake's lips were pressed firmly to his, the kiss burning with more passion than Rich had ever felt and leaving him more breathless then the coughing fit the smoke from the fire had brought on. And suddenly the burning house didn't matter so much anymore. Just the two of them.

That missing piece Rich had felt all his life was suddenly clicked into place. The kiss was over too soon, and Jake was pulling him toward the window, holding him close.

"You'll be okay," Jake was mumbling, trying to reassure him but Rich, realizing what Jake was planning to do, resisted. But he was no match - Jake was strong.

And then they were falling. Rich tried to do something, something that would stop him from landing on Jake, stop Jake from crashing to the ground so hard. But it was absolutely no use. They crashed, both of them hearing sharp cracks, but Jake obviously got the worst of it.

You could tell because Jake screamed, a bloodcurdling scream that meant he was in pain.

And Rich screamed, too. But not out of pain. The pain was the last thing on his mind.

" _ **JAKE**_!"

 _And the two of us went up in smoke….._

No, everything was certainly not fine.

* * *

Rich didn't know how much time had passed when he woke up in the hospital, he just knew everything hurt. His arm was broken, and he was still having a bit of trouble breathing because of the smoke he inhaled, but other than that, he was okay. But every time a doctor came in he would pretty much beg to see Jake.

"Please?" Rich asked desperately, choking back tears as the nurse came to give him more painkillers. "Please, I need to see Jake."

"I'm sorry honey, but neither of you are in a stable position and moving is not an option-"

"Then - Then bring my bed to his room," Rich said desperately, his chest tightening. "I just need to see him. Please.." He trailed off, and blinked back the tears blurring his vision. "Can you at least tell me what's wrong with him?"

The nurse sighed and gave a compassionate smile. "He broke his legs. He's not allowed to move or be moved - The bones were all but shattered, so he needs time to heal. He'll be fine, but.." She sighed. "There's a possibility he might not be able to walk again."

Rich flinched. _But he's alive,_ He thought in relief, then felt a rush of guilt. _Oh, God, why did I do that? Why? Why did he come back to save me? Why did he - Why - Why did he kiss me?_

 **That's what I'm wondering.** The Squip mumbled, making it's presence known for the first time since that night. Rich hissed under his breath and shut his eyes.

"But he's alive." Rich whispered.

"Yes," The nurse giggled. "He's very much alive, and he's been begging to see you since he woke up."

Rich blinked his eyes open to look up at her. "Really?"

"Yes," the nurse smiled, a small spark appearing in her eyes. "You'll be able to see each other very soon, I promise. For now, just focus on getting better." She placed a hand on his shoulder and squeezed gently before heading out.

"Wait," Rich blurted out before he could stop himself, and the nurse paused and turned back. "What room is he in?"

The nurse blinked. "You can't get up to go see him."

 _Damn it._

"I won't." Rich promised softly. "I just want to know."

"You don't need to know, honey," The nurse sighed with a compassionate smile. "Trust me, he's fine. And I promise you, you'll be able to see him."

"When?" Rich dropped his gaze to his hands.

 **Stop being so pitiful, for God's sake.**

"Soon." The nurse replied, offering a smile that Rich didn't see before heading out. Rich watched her go, then sighed in defeat and slumped back, turning his head to look toward the table beside the hospital bed, staring at the cup of water sitting there.

 _Love isn't all that it seems I did you wrong._

He just wanted to see Jake. To make sure he was okay.

 **Of course he's not okay, you idiot. He broke both his legs trying to save** _ **you.**_

Rich just shut his eyes and let the Squip scorn him. He couldn't even bring himself to care anymore. All he could think about was Jake.

 **Is he your** _ **boyfriend**_ **now? Come** _ **on**_ **Rich. I'm supposed to help improve your life. How can I do that if you keep throwing it away?**

"Shutdown." Rich said aloud, gritting his teeth, and sighing in relief when the Squip went silent. Rich sighed and opened his eyes again to look around. Then his gaze fixed on the door, and his eyes darkened.

And without a word he slowly eased himself up out of the bed, careful not to move his arm to abruptly since it was hurting enough as it is. He stumbled, catching himself on the wall with his good hand before slowly making his way to the door, a little unsteady but managing. His legs hurt and he couldn't imagine how Jake felt.

Taking deep breaths, he stood at the door for a moment before looking down the hallway. He wished his Squip was nice enough to want to help but it probably wouldn't. Biting down on his lip, Rich finally headed off down the hall, hand pressed to the wall to keep himself steady.

It took him a while but he managed to find Jake's room. He could barely recognize the boy lying still on the bed, and the only way he really could was because of his hair, his eyes, which stared sullenly up at the ceiling. His head twitched toward the door when he heard footsteps, but his gaze didn't move from the ceiling.

"Can I see Richard now?" His voice was quiet, unusually so, and serene. Rich couldn't help but smile.

"Yeah." He murmured carefully, cautious to avoid saying words with "S" in them, not knowing if his lisp would be there since the Squip was shutdown at the moment.

 _I'll stay here with you until this dream is gone._

Jake jolted, his head shooting up and turning to look at Rich, and his eyes went wide with surprise. "Rich!"

Rich put a finger to his lips, glancing back at the door before making his way over to the bed. "Hey, Jakey-D."

"It's so good to see you, man," Jake exhaled softly, offering a shaky smile. "How are you doing? Are - Are you okay?"

Rich smiled at him and nodded, still careful to watch what he said. He didn't want to start speaking weird in front of Jake. After all, he didn't want his friend to see him as uncool or something. "You?" He mumbled.

"For the most part," Jake offered him a lopsided grin, his eyes slipping shut for a second. "Nobody has any idea you're in here, do they?" He murmured. "They were kind of trying to keep us away from each other for some reason. I think they think you're mentally unstable."

"Not wrong." Rich muttered, reaching out to pull a chair up and falling into it rather clumsily. "I am kind of unsthable." He mumbled, not even noticing his lisp had accidentally come through in that sentence. He was thinking more about the Squip. But when he snapped back to attention, he noticed Jake staring at him with a mixture of confusion, amusement and fascination.

"I've never heard you speak like that before."

"Sthpeak like…" Rich then understood, and he flinched. "Oh."

"Yeah," Jake's smile widened slightly. Rich frowned and dropped his gaze, but his head snapped up in surprise when Jake spoke again. "It's kinda cute."

"Cute?" Rich cleared his throat in surprise, eyes going faintly wide. He felt his face warm up for some reason. Then he thought back, back to the fire, to the kiss…

 _I've been sleepwalking, been wandering all night_

"Yeah," Jake shrugged slightly and pushed himself to sit up, wincing as he did. Rich instantly stood up again to lift the bed up a bit so Jake could sit more comfortably. Then he went to sit back down, but Jake tentatively grabbed his good wrist.

"Come sit with me?" Jake asked with an encouraging smile, and Rich tilted his head but after a second or so he did eventually climb into the bed, and Jake shuffled over as much as possible. There was a lot of room, so they could both sit comfortably, mostly thanks to Rich's short size.

"So," Jake's gaze fixed on the wall, not letting go of Rich's hand, and Rich wasn't sure he wanted him to. "You wanna tell me why?"

Rich glanced at him, mouth suddenly dry, and then looked down. "Not really." He mumbled, but he knew there wasn't really a way out of it. If Jake wanted answers, Jake was going to get answers whether Rich liked it or not. So, with a sigh, Rich turned his gaze to the opposite wall. "You'll think I'm crazthy."

"I don't think it's possible for me to think you're crazier than I already do," Jake admitted, a soft, playful smile on his face, but his gaze was serious. "So, come on."

Silence for a few seconds. They could actually hear their hearts beating in sync. Both of them stopped to listen until Rich broke the comfortable silence.

"I have a Sthquip."

"A what?" Jake blinked, turning his gaze to Rich in surprise, and Rich sighed, glancing at him only briefly before looking away again.

"A Sthquip. It'sth a supercomputer that implantsth in your brain and it tellsth you what to do. It getsth sthuck in your head and talks to you and itsth really annoying." Rich explained, repeating his words to Jeremy from so long ago. "I wasth trying to get rid of it."

Jake just blinked, staring at him, processing the newly given information. Finally, Rich managed to bring his gaze back to Jake to see him looking faintly confused.

 _Trying to take what's lost and broke, and make it right._

"You think I'm insthane." Rich muttered with a sigh. "Or making it up."

"No," Jake muttered, squeezing his hand gently with a frown. "I know you wouldn't make this up. It's just a little confusing. So basically you have a computer in your head and you were trying to get rid of it by killing yourself?"

Rich thought for a second that maybe Jake was mocking him, but Jake was gazing at him completely seriously, concern in his gaze, and Rich sighed before looking away. "Yesth.."

"Rich.." Jake trailed off. "There has to be another way."

"Mountain Dew red." Rich muttered. "But there wasth none of that at the party, so I improvisthed."

"You don't have to take your own life."

"I can'th take the Sthquip anymore," Rich whispered, shaking his head. "I justh want it gone."

"We'll get rid of it," Jake assured, rubbing his good shoulder. "Once we both get out of here, we'll find a way, okay? Just… Please, no more suicide attempts." His frown deepened when Rich hesitated. "Richard, please."

Rich gave in after a moment. "Okay."

 _I've been sleepwalking, too close to the fire._

"Good." Jake smiled slightly in relief, tilting his head at him and going silent now. Rich stared back, and gave a small smile. He was glad his Squip was off because otherwise it'd be screaming at him right then.

Rich stared for a while, then suddenly spoke up. "So, about that kissth.."

Jake laughed slightly, then couldn't help but grin a little bit. "Say kiss again."

"Kissth," Rich raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

"It's just.." Jake trailed off slightly and looked down, letting his hand drop back down to take Rich's. "It's really cute when you say it. I don't know." He mused, playing with the shorter boy's fingers. Rich just stared at him, blinking silently, then blushed.

"Wasth it justh a one time thing, or…?"

"Nah," Jake brought his gaze back to Rich's, smiling. "We got time to figure it all out. But for now," He shifted closer and sank down slightly to Rich's level, resting his head gently against Rich's. "Just stay close."

"Mm," Rich sighed and shut his eyes. "That, I can do."

 _But it's the only place that I can hold you tight…._

"You know I'm probably going to get into a lot of trouble when they realize I sthnuck out."

"Probably."

"It'sth worth it."

"Definitely."

 _In this burning house..._


End file.
